Little Stories
by Aunna
Summary: Just some one-shots, featuring a seven-year-old Ponyboy and a nine-year-old Johnny. Rest of the gang are the same ages. Also showing, the mean Socs, social workers, and possibly Dally taking a nap with our favorite little greasers! Now: Money. Next: Home. Future: Death.
1. Stickers and Pain

**Author's Note:**

**To all those who are waiting for the next chapter of Fire Day, I have the chapter almost finished, but I'm stuck and I will update whenever I figure out how to end the thing. For now I'll just be doing this little collection of one-shots. Most of the gang is still the same age, but Ponyboy is seven and Johnny is nine. Sorry if it doesn't seem like he's seven, I have difficulties getting into a younger mind under the age of thirteen. Enjoy!**

**Sticker and Pain**

_Pony's P.O.V._

I looked at the clocked again to see how much longer I was going to have to wait before I could go home. I couldn't wait to show my big brother Darry my spelling test. I had gotten them all right and my teacher, Mrs. O'Donnell, had given me a bright red star sticker on it. Darry and me had spent almost the whole night making sure I knew how to spell all the worlds. Villain had been a little hard because I thought it had an 'en' instead of an 'ain' but I remembered and spelled all the words right! Darry was going to be happy 'cause that meant I was smart and that I might get into college when I get older. Darry wanted to go but he had to take care of me and Soda after Mommy and Daddy got into accident with me in the car. Soda said they had to go up to heaven to help the angels with the things the angels only got to do. It didn't stop me from missing them though.

As soon as the bell rang I ran out of the classroom, barely remembering to grab my homework on the way out. Darry wouldn't be happy if I forgot to grab it because not doing homework was bad. He would have put me in the corner even if I had showed him my spelling test.

I stopped running once I was a couple of streets away from our house. Looking around, I could see a Soc car following me. Darry and Soda told me to stay away from the Socs because they were mean and they liked to hurt greasers. I ran away.

They had me down against the ground and my head was hurting. I think they punched me or something because I've never had my head hurt like this before. I couldn't help but whimper as one of them pulled a blade. "Well, well, well, look what we have here," the one with the blade said, "It's a baby greaser. Shouldn't babies be with a grown up?"

"I'm not a baby!" I shouted, but one of them hit me for it. I guess this is what the guys call a jump. I remember the one time Soda got jumped and it had scared me. Were they gonna kill me?

"DARRY! SODA! JOHNNY! HELP ME!" I screamed, trying to get away from the Socs. One of them, the one with the blade, swung it at me and cut my forehead. Then he swung again and he made this one really long. I started crying because I didn't want to go to heaven; I just wanted to show Darry my sticker.

Then they were gone and I could hear Soda talking to me. I saw Johnny sitting with him while everyone else chased the Socs back to their car. "Soda," I said.

"What is it baby?" he asked and he picked me up, holding me like Daddy used to do after a nightmare.

"My face hurts," I said, looking around, "Where's my bag?"

Johnny held it out to me as Soda stood up to take us home. I grabbed it, holding it close the Socs came back because they wanted my sticker. They couldn't have my sticker, it was all mine!

Soda put me on the couch as Darry ran by. "We ain't supposed to run in the house Darry," I said.

That made Darry stop and turn around. "The word is aren't Pony," he said and grabbed the first aid kit. He came back over and began to clean my cuts.

Soda whistled. "They did a number on you baby brother," he said, "You've got a cut from your ear to your lips,"

"I do?" I asked and I tried to make me sound tuff, but I ruined it because I started crying.

"Hush baby," Darry whispered, holding me close when he was done cleaning me up. Once I was done crying he pushed my chin up so I was lookin' at him. "You're alright baby," he said, "Now, why didn't you wait for Johnny and Two-Bit like you usually do?"

"'Cause I wanted to show you something!" I said, leaping into my bag.

I found the test and a picture I had drawn of me and Darry and Soda. I gave him the picture first. "Mrs. O'Donnell wanted us to draw our families," I said, "So I draw us,"

Darry smiled and I gave him my test. He looked it over and passed it to Soda, who whistled again before giving it back to me. "Well, I've got one smart kid brother, don't I?" Soda said, messing up my hair, "Perfect score on the spelling test. Guess all that studying was worth missing Mickey, wasn't it,"

That caused a big gasp from Two-Bit and they started arguing about Mickey. I just smiled, stickers were worth so much more then Mickey. Mickey doesn't make your brothers proud of you and stickers do. I love stickers!


	2. Pillows

**Pillows**

_Dally's P.O.V._

It was my turn to watch the brats today and I was not happy about it. Normally, Darry and Soda would never let me watch their kid brother and the only one I usually watch is Johnny. But Two-Bit landed himself in the cooler after a botched swipe and everyone else was working, so it was up to me to keep the two in line. I don't mind watching Johnny; I knew he wouldn't get into any trouble, but I had never watched the youngest Curtis before and I wasn't sure if he would make me lose my temper. I remember when we were kids, before the squirts were born. Two-Bit would always tick me off and he'd end up with a broken nose or a black eye. I would get a scolding from the Curtis' and then they would send us off to play again. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I had hurt one of the kids like that and Soda and Darry sure as hell wouldn't if I hurt their kid brother.

"Dally, is something wrong?" I heard Pony ask. I whipped my head around to see the two little squirts on my lap and they both looked worried. "You wasn't answerin' us and we thought that you were sick or something," Pony said.

"Nothing is wrong with me kid," I said, putting both kids on the couch before I stood up. "Come on, I bet both of you are hungry and I don't want your brothers to think I'm starving you two,"

They followed me to the kitchen where I made them grilled cheese and carrot sticks. They didn't want the carrots, but I managed to get them to eat without hurtin' either one of them. I gave a small smile at that victory. Darry has to tell the kid that he wouldn't get any chocolate cake before he'll even touch his vegetables and I managed to get them to eat with just a look.

"Hey Dally," Pony said.

"If you want chocolate cake you aren't getting any," I growled out.

"Can we go to the park?" he asked.

"Please Dally," Johnny asked his voice soft. "We haven't been out all day,"

I smiled and nodded, causing the two youngsters to start squealing. "But we won't go if you don't stop that racket!" I said and they stopped. I never could understand why Darry wouldn't let the two into the backyard by themselves. It was fenced in and there wasn't anything dangerous back there. It would definitely mean fewer visits to the park and less run-ins with the Socs.

I rolled my eyes when I noticed Pony had put his shoes on the wrong feet. Once I switched them I made sure Johnny had his shoes on right. Kid managed to even tie them by himself. I looked back at Pony and he had one tied but was struggling to get the second one tied right. Without a word I tied them for him and we were gone once I made sure the doors were locked and I had the keys.

We were there for a few hours. Pony ran into some of his school friends and started playing with them while Johnny started playing with his own friends. There weren't really any problems except when Pony fell off the monkey bars and scraped his knee. Lucky for me, one of Pony's friend's mom had some ban-aids and cleaned him up for me.

When we got home all three of us were tired and hungry. I made chicken soup and sandwiches for the kids while they cleaned up.

Once they were feed we watched Mickey for a couple of hours. I looked up at the clock and saw it was nine o'clock, Pony's bedtime. I turned to tell him to get changed and into bed, but both of them were already asleep and using me as a pillow!

I couldn't believe it, two small kids using me, the terrifying Dallas Winston, as a human pillow! Darry wouldn't be home till midnight, working at his second job and Soda and Steve wouldn't be home till about ten thirty, maybe eleven o'clock. I was going to be stuck here for a while.

I don't remember when I fell asleep, I just knew one moment I was watching Mickey and the next I was fast asleep with two little greasers on my chest.

_Nobody's P.O.V. (Third Person)_

When Sodapop and Steve came home that night, both were struggling not to laugh at the greaser who was being cuddled by two children. Steve, knowing black mail when he saw it, went upstairs and grabbed an old camera that had belonged to Soda's father. The moment he snapped the picture, Dallas began to stir.

Soda hid the camera under the table before Dally woke up. The sleepy greaser blinked a few times before he finally recognized the two greasers standing a few feet away from him.

"You mention this to anyone and I will kill you," Dallas growled. That caused the chuckling to stop.

Soda went over to the couch to take Ponyboy upstairs so he could get him into his pajamas and into his own bed. But little Ponyboy had Dally's shirt clutched tightly in his fists and it took Soda ten minutes to pry the little boy away from his furious human pillow. "I won't say anything," Soda said, watching Dally grab Johnny to put him into the spare bed the Curtis' had. "Just be lucky that Two-Bit wasn't here to see it. The whole town would have known before too long had that loud mouth seen you,"

"I wouldn't be a human pillow if he would grow up and be responsible," Dally mumbled under his breath.

"Then he wouldn't be Two-Bit," Steve said, secretly grabbing the camera and returning it to Darry's room when Dally wasn't looking. Steve knew if Dallas saw that camera or the picture, he would be six feet under before the night ended.

_The next morning…_

"STEVE RANDALL, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

"RUN STEVE! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!"

In the end, Dally returned and Steve wasn't seen for the rest of the day. As for the picture, Darry had hid it while the two greasers were gone and put it into a box of photo's he was going to use on Pony when he finally was old enough to actually like and date girls.


	3. Keys and Fear

**Keys and Fear**

_Sodapop's P.O.V._

"Hey Darry, do you know my DX shirt is?" I yelled, stumbling to get my shoes on. I hated mornings because I was never ready for them. It was either I couldn't find my shirt or Ponyboy had hidden my shoes under the bed. It was really rare Pony ever hid my shoes and when he did I saw car wrecks on my way to work. I knew that at least one of those cars would be at the DX later in the day for repairs and Steve and I would be busy that day.

Today was Sunday, Darry's day off. I had to work because one of the guys called in sick and no one else was available today. I knew Steve was out of town because of some family emergency, didn't bother to ask what the emergency was, and my other two buddies, Jake and Vincent, were at this weekend football tournament. "Did you check the dryer Soda?" Darry yelled.

I went to the dryer found my shirt. It's a good thing Darry knows where everything is or I would be in a lot of trouble. "Thanks Darry," I said as I ran past him and out the front door. As I got to the truck I realized I was missing something, the keys.

Just as I reached the porch, there was a loud crack and then the crunching of metal. I jumped and looked at the truck. A branch from the old tree had fallen right on top of the cab, right where I would have been sitting if I had been in the car.

I heard giggling and looked around. When I saw who was giggling, I almost fainted. Across the street was Mom and she was looking at me with a happy expression and next to her stood my little brother with the keys to the truck. I was speechless. Did Pony hide my shoes because he knew that there was going to be an accident I would have been caught in if I had left on time?

He was probably going to hide my shoes today too, but I had beaten him to it. So he did the next best thing in his eyes, taking the keys so I wouldn't be in the car. "Ponyboy," I said, my eyes never leaving his spot. "Come here Pony,"

I noticed Mom wasn't there anymore. It was probably just an illusion, a trick of the light and Pony must have been giggling just as it happened. That had to be it; my mom couldn't have been there. She was dead along with Dad and there was no coming back. I had just about convinced myself of that when Ponyboy started talking to me. "Did you see her?" he asked, "Did you see Mommy Sodapop?"

I stared at him wide eyed. "She told me that the branch was gonna break today," he said, looking at the truck sadly. "I wanted to hide your shoes again but you found them before I could so she told me to hide the keys," He looked up at me with large, tear filled eyes. "Are you okay Soda?"

"I'm fine Lil' Colt," I said, picking him up. He was getting way too big for this, but I needed to hold him. Every time he did all those things, he was just trying to keep me alive. Which would explain why he hid Darry's tool belt from time to time, he was trying to save him too.

Speaking of my big brother, he came rushing out the house to see what had caused the noise. He groaned when he saw the truck and then had a panicked look in his eyes. "Sodapop!" he shouted, not looking at the porch steps.

"I'm fine Darry," I said, climbing the steps with Pony on my hip. "I wasn't in the truck when the branch broke. Thank God that Pony had decided to hide the keys today," I gave him a wink and he just stuck his tongue out at me. Darry pulled me into a bear hug, probably thankful that I wasn't killed.

I went to call Two-Bit to see if he could give me a ride and if he knew if Steve was home yet from his family emergency. I knew he would help me fix the truck. I just hope Two-Bit and Steve don't mind driving us to and from work for a little while. But I have learned something from all of this.

If Pony is hiding my stuff, I have every right to be fearful on the way to work.


	4. Sick

**Sick**

_Darry's P.O.V._

"Darry!" Pony yelled as he came running into my room. "Darry, you got to hurry! Johnny's throwing up all over the lot! I think he's gonna die if you don't help him! Please Darry; you've got to make him better!"

I stood up and looked at Pony. He was sweaty and breathing heavy from the run from the lot to here. He looked scared and I knew he wasn't joking with me. "Show me where he is and I'll try to help him Lil' Colt,"

He took my hand and started pulling me towards the lot. Halfway there he gave up on dragging me and ran for Johnny. He looked back to make sure I was following until he saw Johnny and left me to find them myself.

It wasn't hard to find them. Johnny was near that old abandoned car, throwing up of course, and Ponyboy was rubbing his back. He saw me and waved, looking terrified at the fact that he couldn't make his friend feel better. "Do you know why he's throwing up Pone?" I asked, scooping Johnny up when he stopped barfing long enough to catch his breath.

"I think it was that cancer stick he found on the ground," Pony said, "Some kid gave him a match to light it and once he started he started coughing and when he finished he started puking. Is that cigarette gonna kill him Darry?"

"No Pone," I said, "It's just making him feel sick because he ain't used to smoking. It'll happen to you if you start to Pony. I don't ever want to catch you with a cancer stick, alright?"

He nodded and I looked at Johnny. "This goes for you too, Johnnycakes," I said, "I don't ever want to see or hear that you've been smoking. Got that?"

He nodded. "I don't wanna be sick again," he whimpered, burying his head into my chest.

"Good," I said. I let Pony get onto my back and carried the two rascals back to the house. I was going to have to talk to the gang about offering these two cigarettes. I don't want them to turn out like the rest of them, with yellow teeth and lung cancer. They were perfectly healthy at the moment. Well, Pony is at least. I was going to be working on making sure Johnny would get healthy and stay healthy. Hopefully, he would get to stay with us.

_Nobody's P.O.V._

A few weeks after the incident in the lot, Darrel was taking Pony to school when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Curly Shepard, Tim Shepard's fourteen-year-old kid brother, was trying to give Johnny a cigarette. Johnny was obviously refusing, but anyone could see that he was breaking under the pressure. Darry put Pony on a nearby fence and went marching across the street.

Curly Shepard was sporting a black eye afterwards for trying to fight the oldest Curtis, which led to a small rumble which was won by the Curtis gang. He never did try to give them cigarettes again.


	5. Money

**Author's Note:**

**Hello everyone! I know it's been awhile since I last updated this, but I finally figured out what to do with it! I know I really need to work on Fire Day, but that chapter just won't agree with me! I will force myself to write it. Just be patient with me!**

**Money**

_Darry's P.o.V_

I sighed as I looked at the bills. Both the electricity and water bills were due, but I needed to get more food. I knew my check would cover both bills, but I wasn't sure how far Soda's check would go for food. Damn, I really need to get a raise. Either that or I needed my check from working at the hotel to come faster. I was just a bus boy and that don't pay much, but it would definitely help.

"Darry, what are you doing?"

I almost jumped out of my skin and looked up to see Pony. He looked worried and I really don't like it when Pony looks worried. "I'm just trying to figure out the bills baby, nothing that you need to worry about." I said before going back to worrying about it myself.

"Are the bills sick Darry?" Pony asked. "Can't ya just give them some medicine to make them feel better?"

"The bills aren't sick Pony." I said, running my fingers through my hair. "I have to pay the bills, like you have to pay the lunch lady at school for your food. If I don't have enough money for them, the people who send the bills are gonna take that stuff away."

"You can pay them, right Darry?" Pony asked.

"I can pay the bills Pony." I said, looking back up at him. "I just got to figure out how I'm going to get enough food to fill your tummy for another few weeks."

"Doesn't Soda pay for the food Darry?"

"Yes, Pony."

"And he gets his money when you do, right?"

"Yes."

"Then why are you worrying about the food Darry?"

I was about ready to slam my head on the table. "Because I'm not sure Soda has enough money to pay for all the food." I said.

"Oh."

Pony went up to his room after that. I sighed in relief. I love the kid, but he certainly has a lot of questions! I turned my attention back to the bills. I should have twenty two dollars left after the bills were paid, so I could give that to Soda so he could have enough to pay for the groceries. If we run out, I've got another fifteen dollars saved up in my dresser drawer.

There was a loud crash from upstairs and I knew it was from Pony's room. Dear God, if that kid broke the lamp again he's going to be grounded for the rest of the week.

When I got into the room, the lamp was still on the table and all things breakable seemed to be in place. I looked at the floor and saw the little wooden toy box that Dad had given to Pony before he died. It was tipped over and most of Pony's toys were thrown across the room. "Ponyboy Michael Curtis, what did you do?"

He came crawling out of the toy box with a smile. "I pushed over the box so I could find it!" Pony shouted.

"Find what?"

"Hold out your hand and I'll give it to you!"

I rolled my eyes and held my hand out. Pony put whatever he had found there and back up. When I looked at my hand I felt guilty but touched. Pony had obviously been saving this money for a while.

"There's three dollars and seventeen cents." Pony said. "Do you think it'll be enough to help get Soda some food?"

"Sure it will Lil' Colt." I said, ruffling his hair. "But why were you saving up that money anyway?"

Pony blushed and looked down at the floor. "I heard you and Soda talking about how you were supposed to go the college but you didn't have enough money." He said. "So I started to save some so you could go back. But that isn't enough to go back, is it Darry?"

I pulled Pony into a big hug. "I won't be going back to college for a while Pone." I said, tears threatening to spill over. "But I'm mighty happy that you were thinking about me."

"It's nothing Dar." Pony said. "I like helping you, even if I got to wash the dishes."

"Got something against the dishes?"

"I wouldn't if Two-Bit would stop leaving beer in the cups!"

"What wrong with that?"

"He'll come by before I dump them and spill them on my head if Soda isn't there."

"Do you want me to beat him up?"

"Can I watch?"

"We'll see about that Pone."


End file.
